Now coach Dan Mullen is trying to make sure a bad day against the Crimson Tide doesn't turn into a bad month.

"You
always define yourself in November," Mullen said. "And we've put
ourselves in great position during the month of November. Now this is
what separates a good season from a great season and a great season from
a championship season."

The end of October wasn't much fun.
Mississippi State's undefeated season ended in a lopsided 38-7 loss to
an Alabama team that was better in every facet of the game.

But
the No. 17 Bulldogs (7-1, 3-1 SEC) don't have much time to sulk. Mullen
says his team must learn from their mistakes and get ready for No. 16
Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2) on Saturday.

Mississippi State's coaches
said tape from the Alabama loss revealed a mix of positive and negative
news. The good is that the Bulldogs were talented enough to move the
ball on offense and make stops on defense when everyone was handling
their assignment.

The bad news is there were a bunch of missed assignments.

"We
have to be a better football team this week than we were last week,"
Mullen said. "Throughout the season you have to continually improve, the
only way you do that is through how you prepare and how you practice.
That comes down to your work ethic on a daily basis."

The Aggies
come into the game with the SEC's most prolific offense, averaging 45.5
points and 542.9 yards per game. They gained 671 yards in last week's
63-21 victory over Auburn and have scored at least 58 points in four out
of eight games.

And Texas A&M's offensive scheme is a complete 180 from the Crimson Tide's straight-forward, ball-control approach.

The
Bulldogs have to figure out a way to at least slow down Texas A&M's
freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who averages 277 passing yards per
game and leads the SEC with 99.1 rushing yards per game. He threw for
two touchdowns and ran for three more in the Auburn win.

Mississippi
State blew several defensive assignments against Alabama — especially
in the passing game — which was a big reason the Bulldogs fell into a
24-0 halftime hole. If it happens against Texas A&M, it could be
another long game.

Mississippi State defensive coordinator Chris
Wilson said he's confident the Bulldogs' veteran defense, which is led
by linebacker Cameron Lawrence and cornerback Johnthan Banks, will
bounce back quickly.

"We're second right now in the league, and
we've got a chance to be 8-1 if we go out and play at a higher level and
execute at a higher level," Wilson said. "I don't think we put as much
into (one loss) as maybe the outside world. We've got to go play better.
We've got to go fix our issues. We do that and we'll be ready to go."

Mississippi
State's offense had some good moments against the Tide — like a 97-yard
drive in the third quarter. The problem was the drive ended with
quarterback Tyler Russell throwing an interception.

The oh-so-close theme was repeated often throughout the night.

The
Alabama loss didn't just hurt Mississippi State's ego. The Crimson Tide
put several hard hits on Russell and others — like linebacker
Benardrick McKinney, offensive tackles Blaine Clausell and Charles
Siddoway — missed part of the game due to various injuries.

But Mullen didn't expect any of them to miss the Texas A&M game.

"This
time of year everybody is bumped and bruised and everybody has a boot
on," Mullen said. "Everybody has tape and ice all over their bodies but
that happens in the Southeastern Conference."

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.